Minneapolis Apartment Rentals

Your Credit Report & You

2007-02-25T06:32:00.000-08:00

Good Credit = Less Rent

What To Look For In Your Credit ReportBy Arnold Kling, and HomeFair.com™

This article explains what to look for when you order a copy of your credit report.
One of the ways that the Internet is helping consumers is that it makes it easy to order a copy of your credit report. This can be useful information when you are getting ready to apply for a mortgage loan, or just to give you a general idea about where you stand from a credit perspective. What You Will See
The major credit repositories collect three types of information.

What you Will See

What you see will include whatever applies to you in all three areas:
Public Record Data.
This usually is stuff that is not good. The term "public record" means information that is recorded by government authorities, including courts. So, if you have declared bankruptcy, or there is a tax lien on property that you own, or there is some other financial matter in which a court or government agency has recorded an action against you, this will show up in the search of public records.
If you have adverse public record information, this does not preclude you from getting a loan, but it does make it difficult to be rated as an "A" borrower (a term often used to describe people whose credit is viewed as low risk by lenders). Once the issue has been resolved, after 5 years have passed you often can restore a low-risk credit rating. In the meantime, you probably will have to write a letter to any potential lender to explain the situation (lenders call these "cry letters").
Trade Lines.
A trade line is a status report on an existing account where you have credit, such as a store charge card or major credit card. The lenders with whom you have these accounts voluntarily supply the status information to the major repositories of credit information.
A trade line covers an account that you now have that gives you either installment credit (a fixed loan that you pay off in regular installments ) or revolving credit (a loan whose amount can vary depending on purchases, such as a major credit card or department store credit card). The credit report will show whether you are current or behind payments on the account, and it will show how often you have fallen behind within the recent past (usually one year or three years).
If the trade line section shows only 1 or 2 missed payments, and no current delinquencies, you are fine. If it shows you as being currently delinquent, it is strongly recommended that you remedy the situation before you apply for new credit, such as a mortgage loan.
Inquiries.
This shows recent inquiries made to the credit reporting company by companies from whom you have requested a credit card or some other form of credit.

What You Won't See
What you will not see is your overall credit rating. There are companies that are separate from the credit repositories but who work closely with them to produce overall credit ratings for individuals, called credit scores. Credit scores are used increasingly by mortgage lenders to make decisions.
For now, the credit scoring companies resist giving credit scores directly to consumers (a lender who pulls your credit score may choose to reveal your credit score to you, but the lender is not obliged to do so). Fair Isaac, the leading credit scoring company, justifies this by saying that "the number by itself might not hold much meaning to you."
Imagine a teacher trying to justify keeping your grade a secret because "the number by itself might not hold much meaning to you." In my opinion, Fair Isaac is showing condescension and arrogance in their attitude.
As of today, I know of no way for consumers to request their own credit scores. Only if a lender is willing to provide your score can you obtain it. Meanwhile, here are some guidelines about credit scores:
Public record data that is less than 5 years old can have a severe impact on your credit score.
Credit accounts that currently are delinquent can have a major adverse impact on your credit score.
A track record of "serious delinquencies" (90 days or more) can have a major adverse impact on your credit score.
A high "utilization rate" (your current credit balances use up most of your available credit) can have an adverse impact on your credit score.
A large number of recent inquiries (indicating that perhaps you are aggressively seeking credit) can have a modest adverse impact on your credit score. What To Do with Your Credit Report
Review the report for accuracy. Be particularly careful to check your personal identification information. If the report uses a misspelled name, address, or social security number, this is important to get straightened out.
See if there are issues in the report that could create problems in your credit rating.
Try to resolve the issues that you can--for example, by paying off any accounts that currently are delinquent, or reducing your utilization rate.
If the report has inaccuracies, then you may wish to contact all three major credit repositories, in order to clear up the issues as quickly as possible.
Here are their web sites: Equifax Experian Trans Union
What Not To Do
Do not pay a credit doctor to "fix" your credit report--those services are scams. But do examine your report carefully for errors, because correcting errors can prevent major problems.
Be careful about signing up for a service to "monitor" your credit report. These services are fairly expensive, and often they use a "free" copy of your credit report as a loss leader. I personally would never pay the $50 a year or more that these services charge.
Try to avoid over-paying for a credit report. The standard prices I have seen are about $10 or less for a report from one credit repository, and about $30 for a report from all three. If you have no reason to suspect that there are errors in your credit report, then my advice would be to buy the $10 report that comes from one repository. If that report turns out to require corrections, then you can go back and order a 3-repository report

Would-be buyers are now renting

2007-02-11T13:57:00.000-08:00

For the first time since the housing boom, rental property owners are seeing relief from rising vacancy rates and stagnant rent prices.
Instead, growing numbers of prospective home buyers are choosing to rent, in some cases because they have been priced out of the market or are worried about getting into a market that doesn't offer a guaranteed profit.
And that is causing vacancy rates to fall, rent prices to rise and apartment building construction on a scale that hasn't been seen in years. Although it is one of the strongest buyer's markets in more than in a decade, sales haven't kept pace with rising inventory. That means the housing market no longer has the momentum to steal from the rental market.
The total number of closed home sales in the Twin Cities metro area last year dropped 16.3 percent, according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors.
"I think people are afraid right now," said Tracy Bolton, marketing director for Steven Scott Management in St. Louis Park. "I think there's a stigma attached to what's happening in the housing market right now and prices are still very expensive."
The housing market hasn't collapsed the way some feared it might, but trepidation about being able to sell in the event of a job transfer, marriage or other unforeseen circumstances is making buyers more skittish. And that caused occupancy rates and rents to rise modestly last year, according to GVA Marquette Advisors in Minneapolis.
Effective rents, after subtracting concessions such as free months, increased 3 percent in 2006, overall vacancy rates fell to 4.7 percent last year from 6.1 percent in 2005 and average rent prices rose from $851 in 2005 to $871 last year, according to GVA's year-end market report.
GVA's vice president, Brent Wittenberg, attributes some of the shift in the rental market to an improving economy that includes low unemployment and strong wage growth.
"More people are making at least a short-term commitment to renting," he said.
Those increases vary depending on the market. Overall vacancy rates at Steven Scott, for example, fell 1 to 2 percent across the board last year, while rents remained flat. And Bolton expects concessions to be virtually nonexistent by the end of next year.
Steven Scott's president, Steve Schachtman, said the company is finally regaining some ground after years of offering healthy incentives and even some rent reductions at a time when he was also dealing with rising energy and maintenance costs.
"You're starting to see the person who wanted to buy a house start adding up the cost ... the mortgage payments, taxes and upkeep, and they're finding out that because of the uncertainties out there, they want to look at apartments," he said.
More units coming
A more dramatic sign of this shift will be seen on the skyline. In Minneapolis at least three apartment projects are being built and more are planned.
Although not as big as the condo building boom that swept the metro area during the past six years, it's going to be the most construction the rental market has seen in several years.
That short list includes two projects led by Michigan-based Village Green Companies, which manages more than 31,000 units nationwide. They are collaborating with a local company in the construction of a 158-unit luxury apartment building on Lake Calhoun. And on Loring Park the company is building an addition to the Eitel Hospital building, which is undergoing a historic renovation, that will include 213 upscale apartments with 10- to 20-foot ceilings and a Zen garden on the roof. But Village Green's chairman and CEO, Jonathan Holtzman, said he's bullish on the prospects for the rental market in Minneapolis in large part because of the city's new cultural attractions and burgeoning downtown neighborhoods.
A few miles away in south Minneapolis, the father-son team of Paul and Kevin Klodt is building 229 apartments in a $30 million, five-story complex of buildings in a once-industrial area near the Hiawatha Light Rail Transit system's 46th Street Station.
And Chip Johnson, founder of Minneapolis-based Turnstone Group, is focusing less on condo conversions and more on multi-family projects. He is planning to build a 109-unit luxury apartment building in Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood.
"We like to evolve with the trends and the condos were a major trend for the last four years," Johnson said. "We don't want to follow that [trend] down, we'd rather follow multi-family up."
Litzinger, who also works at a Steven Scott property in Eagan, said it's easy to gauge the trend. Renters are no longer opting for the buy-build clauses that were so popular over the past few years. By paying an additional $20 a month, renters could break their lease with two months' notice after a full year of renting if they decided they wanted to buy a house.
"Starting last summer, they stopped doing it," she said. "People don't know what to expect from the market, I hear it every day."

By Jim Buchta / StarTribune

2 Bedroom Apartment for Rent/ Minneapolis,MN

2007-02-05T07:57:00.000-08:00

3654 Bryant ave

Unique 2 Bedroom ApartmentAvailable Now!2 Bedrooms/2Living Rooms/2 Bathrooms/
2 Seperate Entry's,Spiral Staircase,Very Clean & Quite Building,On site Laundry
Storage available,Cable Ready,Ceiling Fan,Walk-In Closet,Controlled Access
$925.00 a month + Elec
*Click Link Below For Photo's*
3654 Bryant Ave
Application fee is $25.00 per person....Upon approval application fee is Credited to the first month's rent.

Minneapolis 311

2007-02-01T05:38:00.000-08:00

City information and services

Need to report a broken street light? Is there a stray dog roaming your neighborhood? Do you just want a question about the City of Minneapolis answered? Minneapolis 311 can help.

Just call 3∙1∙1 weekdays from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM and a 311 agent will assist you.

Contact 311 by e-mail at Minneapolis311@ci.minneapolis.mn.us.

Online Services
Minneapolis 311 is part of an ongoing effort to make the City more accessible to residents and visitors. Many requests for City services can also be made online. To learn more, go to the online services page.

Some Facts About 311
The three-digit number can be called anywhere within the Minneapolis boundary limits.
Cell phone users -- even ones with phone numbers outside the 612 area code -- can call 311, provided those calls are made within city limits.
People who do not speak English can also use Minneapolis 311. They will either be helped by a 311 agent who speaks their language, or a translation service will be contacted to help with the caller.
911 will continue to be the number for emergency calls.

The ABC's of Property Management Seminar

2007-02-01T05:26:00.000-08:00

Learn to manage your rental property and help promote safe, thriving neighborhoods
The City of Minneapolis is holding a property management workshop to help rental property owners get useful information and connections to resources on property management. The Minneapolis Police Department’s Community Crime Prevention/SAFE Unit and the Minneapolis Housing Inspections work together to present the workshop to help both new and long-time rental property owners.

The workshop will be held:

Saturday, March 24, 2007
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Registration at 8:30 a.m.)
St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church, 3450 Irving Ave. S., Minneapolis

Interested property owners should RSVP by Friday, March 16. To get a registration form, email ccpsafe@ci.minneapolis.mn.us or call the message line at 612-673-2812. There is a $20 registration fee, and that fee includes all printed materials, the cost of a box meal and a DVD on Hennepin County Housing Court.

Workshop topics will include:

The ABCs of property management
Working with the Minneapolis Police Department
Working with Housing Inspections
Tenant behavior issues
The risk of lead poisoning
Hennepin County Housing Court / mediation
Networking opportunities
Owners who participate in this training will learn ways to help keep their properties free of drug dealing and other illegal activity.

January 19, 2007

2007-01-28T05:31:00.000-08:00

Minnesota Landlord Reminder
Minnesota rental property owners have to issue a Certificate of Rent Paid to each of their tenants from 2006 by January 31, 2007. The CRP is the State's way of rebating the property owners' taxes to the tenants. I could get on a soap box about this redistribution of wealth program, but hey, I live in Minnesota and that comes with the package!
The forms can be obtained on this website under "CRP Instructions for Landlords". If you're new to the landlord business, the instructions are short and easy to follow. Read them first and then fill out one form for each of your tenants, even if they only rented for one month. If you don't have their current mailing address, it's suggested you send it to the address they rented from you and it will be forwarded. If it's returned, keep the entire envelope with the postmark in the tenant's file in case you are called to task for not sending it!

Twin Cities Apartments for Rent

2007-01-27T19:18:00.000-08:00

Castle Custom Consultants... a Minnesota based Property Management Company Offering Quality Afforadable Apartments for rent in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. Our Featured Property at 2112 Pillsbury Ave, Once belonged to the famous "Daytons" family. This Beautiful Mansion was converted into Stunning Vintage Studio and 1 Bedroom Apartments. Be sure to Check out our Exciting new Move In Specials, even featuring "Free Rent" at some of our Twin Cities Locations.

Minnesota Living

2007-01-27T12:56:00.000-08:00

M inneapolis Apartments A lush, beautiful environment and plenty of urban sophistication combine to make Minneapolis a unique city that its residents love. It earns a seemingly endless parade of titles: third on Esquire Magazine's "Cities That Rock," Money Magazine's "Most Fun City in America," Travel & Leisure's "Cleanest City" and PBS's "Most Walkable Community." Speaking of walking, Minneapolis contains the only scenic byway located entirely within an urban area, allowing you to circumnavigate the city on a winding complex of beautiful trails. Minneapolis is also famous for the Mall of America, more theater seats per capita than any city other than New York and more golfers per capita than any other city in the country. How's that for variety? Residents can find their niche here in this diverse city full of opportunity. More good news: The overall cost of living is 12% below the national average, meaning that apartments are relatively inexpensive. Average apartments for rent go for $800 a month, with average 2-bedroom apartments renting for $1,000.
St. Paul Apartments The other Twin City has its own fair share of natural beauty and metropolitan delights. Set along the Mississippi River, St. Paul has a large, ethnically diverse population and a rich history of culture, which is reflected in its historic sites, architectural landmarks and Old World neighborhoods. One of the most striking features of the city are its skyways, enclosed pedestrian walkways that connect virtually all of downtown and keep pedestrians comfortable and dry no matter what the weather is outside. The cost of living here is 9% lower than the national average, which is not as favorable as Minneapolis. However, the price of apartment rentals is somewhat cheaper here. Average one-bedroom apartments go for about $650, two-bedroom apartment rentals go for $800 and three-bedroom apartments for rent average $1,000 per month. Rent.com